1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an inkjet recording head that responds to an image signal by recording an image by affixing ink drops expelled from nozzles onto a recording medium such as recording paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image recording device using the inkjet method is generally equipped with an inkjet recording head that is equipped with ink cavities that are connected to ink expulsion nozzles and ink inlets used for supplying ink, as well as actuators that cause ink drops to be expelled from said nozzles by applying pressure to the ink inside said cavities.
In order to form high-quality images, some of the inkjet recording heads of this type are equipped with multiple nozzles having different sizes. In other words, ink drops having a large diameter are expelled by nozzles having a large diameter, while ink drops having a small diameter are expelled by nozzles having a small diameter, such that dots of different diameters are formed on the recording medium, improving image quality.
Incidentally, the ink in the ink cavities is pressurized and expelled from the nozzles by the actuators, thus instantly reducing the volume of the ink cavities. When this occurs, the ink of an amount equivalent to the amount by which said volume is reduced is divided into two components: the component that is expelled from the nozzle as an ink drop and the component that, flows backward via the ink inlet to the ink supply chamber that houses the ink used as resupply ink.
Therefore, when the impedance of the ink supply path changes due to the diameter, configuration, etc. of the nozzle, in some cases the ratio of said expelled ink component to the backward-flowing component fluctuates, and ink drops cannot be expelled in a stable fashion.